I am participating in the #RepealTheSeal campaign to show my disagreement with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ recent decision to allow the Kids Eat Right logo onto food packaging.
I invite my fellow colleagues and bloggers who share this opinion, or who support this campaign, to also post this Open Letter on their own blog, to sign the petition at change.org, and/or to use #RepealTheSeal hashtag via social media
Hi all-
This is a bit of a non-traditional post but it’s an issue that needs to be addressed and I feel it’s important enough to warrant a post. For those of you who don’t know, the New York Times published this article last week: “A Cheese ‘Product” Gains Kids’ Nutrition Seal“. I couldn’t believe it when I read the article and I’ve yet to speak to a single RD who is happy with this decision.
Thanks to a few of my amazing colleagues, Regan Jones, Rachel Begun and Kate Geagan, an open letter to The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has been written and a petition has been started to repeal this decision.
As dietitian/nutritionists, we work hard to provide full transparency in all of our own business relationships, and we expect the same from our Academy. In the business world, a logo on a product label conveys an endorsement, an alignment, and recognition of a paid relationship.
We are making known to the public and the Academy through the OPEN LETTER printed below that (1) we do not support this type of logo placement (2) we request that the on-package logo be repealed and (3) we request full transparency by AND & KER about this partnership to ensure this does not happen in the future.
If you agree our #RepealTheSeal campaign, we’d love for you to join us in signing the petition. You don’t have to be a Registered Dietitian to sign!
Find the #RepealTheSeal petition here and read the open letter to the Academy below. Thanks for helping us make an impact!
–Lindsay–
March 16, 2015
To Mary Beth Whalen, President Sonja Connor, leadership at the Academy and the Kids Eat Right (KER) Foundation:
As long-time members and proud supporters of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), we are dismayed, shocked, and saddened by the blog post in last week’s New York Times. The piece (http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/12/a-cheese-product-wins-kids-nutrition-seal/?_r=0 – ) reports on the KER Foundation’s Nutrition seal— a seal that the Academy states was not an endorsement of the product, but is an indicator of the brands that support Kids Eat Right.
As dedicated Registered Dietitians/Nutritionists and food and nutrition experts, we are protesting the Academy’s position to allow the Kids Eat Right logo on Kraft Singles, as well as the possibility to allow any future implied endorsement of any product by AND for the following reasons:
Flawed Understanding of the Marketplace
We wholly reject the rationale that the Academy used in their formal press release to defend the nature of the relationship between Kraft and the Academy. A logo on a product label is an endorsement, an alignment, and recognition of a paid relationship. Simply stating otherwise in a press release, no matter how emphatically, doesn’t change this fact. Rather, AND’s actions illustrate how profoundly out of touch AND is with business principles, which has put our professional integrity and credibility at risk. It is also a decision that is out of touch with members’ values.
Failure to Provide Transparency to AND Members and Consumers
We work hard to provide full transparency in all of our own business relationships, and we expect the same from the Academy. Failure to be transparent about ANDs actions violates the Academy’s own Ethics Policy, which calls for the highest standards of honesty and integrity, and for members to not engage in false or misleading practices of communications.
Actions Requested of the Academy: #RepealtheSeal
We ask that the Academy make available to its members, the media and the public the following:
- We ask for full transparency regarding the process of approval to allow the KER logo on the Kraft product— including the names of those involved, the meeting minutes of the discussion, and Board’s vote on this issue.
- We ask for full disclosure of the terms of the financial agreement between KER Foundation and Kraft. We also request full transparency regarding the status of future agreements under consideration for use of our Logo.
- We ask the Academy to provide their plan for the discontinuation of this specific relationship with Kraft and removal of the KER logo off Kraft Singles product packaging.
Academy members deserve strong leaders who will protect the integrity of the Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist credential. This latest action is an embarrassing misstep that must be corrected swiftly in order to prevent further damage to the RD/RDN brand and to the Academy.
Sincerely,
Rachel Begun MS, RDN
Kate Geagan MS, RDN
Regan Jones, RDN
Registered Dietitian/Nutritionists colleagues listed at change.org
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Laura @ Mommy Run Fast says
Just signed- love this! I was upset by their actions too and know that it does not reflect what my RD friends stand for. I’d love to see this petition create change!
Kaylin @ Enticing Healthy Eating says
I am proud of you for offering up and speaking your opinion on this matter, Lindsay! I have a bachelor’s in food and human nutrition and when I first saw this story on the news and read more into it…it blew my mind. But I was also sad because it’s such a sore representation of those RD’s out there who do know what they are talking about. I will be signing the petition!
Francesca says
Signed. Thanks for spreading the word!
Julia says
Thanks for sharing this! I just added my name to the petition and shared the link to this page with my fellow dietetic interns.
Jamey says
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this! I’m a dietetics student and we were discussing this today in class. My professor was appalled, as was most of our class. It’s sad and disheartening.
Angela says
Signed the petition! Thank you for doing this and getting the word out there!
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
SIGNED!! Great job ladies 🙂
Meghan G says
As a former employee of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics I strongly commend these women for speaking their minds. No private label “cheese product” should be able to pay for a de facto stamp of approval from AND. In fact no brands should. Nutrition needs to be kept to general suggestions about ingredients, vitamins, etc. It should never be a slave to funding. AND must remain a respected and neutral voice in advocacy.
Danica @ It's Progression says
It makes me SO happy to see health professionals (RDs, nutritionists, holistic health coaches, etc.) standing up against this seal. I most certainly signed the petition when I first read about all of this, and I’m thankful you shared this on your blog. We want people eating REAL food and learning about REAL nutrition!
Chris says
My RD wife told me about this yesterday. Can’t believe a non “food” item would be given that seal! Unreal! She was livid. Definitely need full disclosure on the deal and how that seal was obtained and for what reasons… because if that plastic cheese can gain the seal, what’s next? Oreos?
Erin @ Erin's Inside Job says
Definitely signed. I can’t believe they put that on Kraft Singles!! Thanks for sharing and I hope some change comes as a result.
Caitlin RD says
I just signed this last night and was glad to see that so many others had too. I was appalled when I read about this issue yesterday and cannot imagine any RD worth their credential agreeing with labeling this product with the KER logo. It completely undermines the efforts of nutrition professionals everywhere who strive to provide science-based, reliable advice. Thank you for taking action!
Lindsay says
totally agree!
Gina V says
I agree with you on this completely. Although, I’m an Academy member, I really don’t feel like I have been represented fully with a lot of their decisions (or indecisions). Personally, I want to see more exposure if it is some kind of a label (I believe we can all agree on fruits and vegetables!) but on a cheese product? The Diet Coke ads in Food & Nutrition were bad enough. There’s a lot of competition with RDs and ‘nutritionists’, personal trainers…Dr. Oz. The Academy should be doing more for us as a profession. Thank you for putting this out there!
Lindsay says
thanks for reading!